Improvement in apparatus for operating sewing-machines



Nrrnn S'rATEsPArEN-r OFFICE.

VICTOR GIROUD, OF NEW-YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO JOHN M. DOW, OF SAMEPLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR OPERATING SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 108,902, dated November1, 1870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, VIGTORGIROUD, of t-he city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Means of DrivingSewing and other Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents asectional elevation, taken mainly as indicated by the line .r x in Fig.3, of my improvement as applied to a sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is a sideview ofthe same 5 and Fig. 8, an elevation at right angles to Figs. land 2, looking toward the face of the operator.

Similar letters of reference indicatecorre spondin g parts.

My invention, while applicable to operatin g various machines, is mainlydesigned to be used as a means of driving sewing-machines and consistsin mechanism for such purpose or purposes in which the weight of theoperator, as thrown upon a rising and falling seat,

is made to set in motion a train of gearing that drives the machine,yand on the operator removing his weight from said seat the latter risesand the mechanism adjusts itself for a repetition of the driving actionby the falling of the seat through the weight of the operator, asbrought to rest again thereon.

The invention also includes various combinations of details for effccting such action in an advantageous manner, and for adjusting the mechanismto suit different weights of persons, likewise devices for stopping orcontrolling the speed of the mechanism as against the weight of theoperator; also, a combination of swiveling seat with a rising andfalling stem thereto, and devices through which the weight of theoperator, as thrown upon the seat, is made to drive the machine.

Referring to thc accompanying drawing, A represents a stand or table, onwhich is arranged a sewing-machine, B, driven by a belt or band, b, froma ily-wheel, G. Connected with this iiy-wheel is a train ot'multiplyinggearing, that may be variously disposed or changed, andincreased or diminished, as required, but that carries on its primaryspindle c a loose driving-pinion, D, which has fast on the face or oneside of it a ratchet-wheel, E, into which bite one or more spring-pawls,F F, fast to the first or main wheel G of the gear, so that on operatingthe driving-pinion Din the one direction, it is caused to give motion,through the ratchet and pawls, to the train of gearing by which themachine is driven; but on operating said driving-pinion in a reversedirection it merely turns the ratchet without operating the train ofgearing.

H is the rising and falling seat, on which the operator sits whenworking? the machine, and by which, through a toothed segment-lever, I,that gears with the pinion D, and is connected on the opposite side ofits fulcrum d with the seat, is motion, first in one direction and thenin the other, communicated to the drivin g-pinion D, that by itsratchet-connection, as hereinbefore described, only operates the driving-train of gear in one direction, which action takes place during thelowering of the seat by the weight of the person resting thereon.

lhe seat H is shown as supported by a stem, e, which is fitted to slideiu a socketed pedestal, f, that is secured to the floor or to abaseplate, g, on which the stand A rests.

The stein e is represented as resting on'a spring arranged within thesocketed pedestal, and which will serve to lift or return the seat toits normal posit-ion after the weight of the person has been removed;but such spring may be dispensed with, inasmuch as the weight of theforward segmental portion of the lever I will operate to lift the seatas required, without the aid of a spring.

The segment-lever I is connected in an adjustable manner with the stem eofthe seat by means of pcrforations or slots h h and tie-bolt t',whereby the weight of the person, as applied to the seat, is made tooperate with au increased or diminished effect upon the train ofdriving-gear, accordingly as the connection of the lever with the stemis made closer to or farther from the fulcrum d of the segmentlever.This provides for adjustment of the means to suit persons of differentweight.

To facilitate the turning of the person when on the seat, as sometimesnecessary in the manipulation of the work, Without interfering with therising and falling action of the seat, said seat H is connected, as by aforked clip, k, or otherwise, with the frame m of the seat in suchmanner as to permit of the seat Working up and down, and the seat andframe supported or attached, as at n n, so as to be free to swivel orturn in common.

K is an elastic brake, that may be of any suitable construction, andwhich is made capa' ble of being applied to or released from theiy-Wheel C by the foot ofthe operator through a treadle, L, and rod O,and whereby the operator while on the seat is able to counteract in ameasure or altogether the effect of his Weight, so as to check, or makeuniform, or stop, if necessary, the running of' the driving devices atany particular point or period in the lowering of the seat. By the meansas here described there is no spring or weight to be Wound up, nor anylaborious action of thehands or feet to set the train of driving-gearin motion, butsimply a slight lift of the person at intervals from theseat to permit of the seats rising, and `a subsequent throwing of theWeight of the person on the seat to produce its depression.

The lifting of the person at intervals may be effected or aided bybearin g down with the arms on the sides of the independent frame of therising and falling seat, thereby transferring the weight of the personto the frame.

What is here claimed, and desired to be scoured by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the seat H, arranged to rise and fall with thetoothed segment-lever I, and a train of gear-Wheels or pulleys, foroperation lessentially as specified.

2. The segment-lever I and seat H, or its stem e, connected by anadjustable pin, c', in the slot h., substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination of the seatH, constructed to swivel horizontally,With the lever I and driving Wheels or pulleys G, substantially as shownand described.

V. GIROUD.

Vitnesses:

FRED. HAYNEs, FEED. TUscH.

